Australian war artist wins major peace prize

Australian activist and war artist George Gittoes has been awarded the 2015 Sydney Peace Prize.

The jury recognised the Sydney-born 65-year-old "for his courage to witness and confront violence in the war zones of the world".

Over 45 years, Gittoes has used painting, film and photos to record conflicts in Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Europe.

He now spends about half his year in Afghanistan mentoring local artists.

Previous winners include Archbishop Desmond Tutu, academic Noam Chomsky, and journalist John Pilger.